Mark

The Racer's Wedge and Coca-Cola branded '72 Chevy pickups out now are based on the GMC. So the GMC won't be back unless Round 2 commits to recreating it.

E1: AMT (made by MPC) Car Craft Dream Rod, later reused in MPC Magnum GT II. E3: possibly Revell Tony Nancy double kit (roadster). F1: Jo-Han '61 or '62 Cadillac. F2: look like AMT mid-Sixties Corvair. F3: AMT '61 Ranchero (Styline issue) custom.

It's unlikely anyone will ever issue a 1/25 scale version of that Cad. Those 1/32 scale kits are quite nice, they have engine detail and plated parts. The bodies are molded in sections but the pieces do fit together very well. Besides that, and the scale, the only things lacking compared to newer kits are no vinyl tires or clear parts. And Atlantis is rectifying the latter by adding clear parts.

Atlantis, for the most part, is trying to get these kits reissued in as close to original form as possible. So, if the decal sheet in the original kit had only what was needed for one particular version, then that's what Atlantis will be putting in their reissue. The exception seems to be the Tom Daniel items, some of those have both new designs and a close approximation of what was in the original kit. With the Camaro, I'd suspect they will issue it as the Heavy Hugger at some time in the future. Maybe that version will get something different from what was in the Revell version of that issue.

C1: Jo-Han '68/'69 4-4-2. C2: AMT Corvair, not sure if they changed between '65 and '67. C3: AMT '63 Impala. C4: AMT '63 Buick. C5: AMT '65 Grand Prix, custom. Supposed to be Corvette knockoff wheels. D1: Jo-Han custom wheel, in numerous '62 and '63 annuals. D2: MPC '68/'69 Charger and Coronet. D3: Revell '69/'70 Mustang coupe/convertible annual. D4: not sure.

What else would you expect there to be on it?

A1 is '62 Imperial. A3 is '61 F-85 wagon (left), '62 F-85 (right). A4 is '62 Valiant. B1 is MPC, not sure which kit. B2 is '60 Olds. B4 is AMT Ford Camper Special, those fit the tires that were unique to that kit.

A Cosworth? Nope.

Pick one, and leave it. Kids eventually have to learn that it gets dark outside...

'72 had the opening hatch also, as did the mid-year '71 Street Funny Car issue. Those were the only three.

One of my cars has both made of metal. I had the gas tank out last year, scoped it, nice and clean inside. I had the radiator and heater core redone years ago, both are still good. I can now get a new gas tank (couldn't for a long time; there was ongoing litigation over it), can even get a stainless one. I might do just that, if a vendor at Carlisle would actually bring some stock instead of just passing out catalogs...

Nobody around here seems to repair gas tanks or recore radiators anymore. All of the shops that used to do that work now have huge signs: "we install new gas tanks and radiators".

If the car was sitting in the driveway, maybe the homeowners' policy might, just might, cover it...

So not only will you be out a tankful of gas, you'll likely get socked with environmental cleanup costs...

Will the next version include an alert that blames it on the dog?

Those plastic parts probably stiffen the thinner sheet metal being used for body panels.

I have never seen any reference to Detroit Plastic Products, but I'm pretty sure he was involved with SMP. Most people think SMP kits were just rebranded AMT. AMT was heavily involved with Ford in the Fifties (having been founded by an attorney who worked with Ford a lot), so other car companies were slow to give them promo model contracts fearing information could be provided to Ford. SMP was a separate company, although with some financial backing from AMT. AMT bought SMP out in 1961, some early production 1962 kits were branded SMP but were soon switched over. I believe Erikson put in a bid on AMT when it came up for sale in 1978, and took a position with Lesney (the winning bidder) and worked at AMT for a while after Lesney took over. Dennis Doty would know more about this, though.

The only reason that seller listed the body and glass together, was because he couldn't get them apart!

The AMX and SC/Rambler kits were probably the last produced in decent numbers by SeVille/Foremost, so those were the last to move up price-wise, other than the classic cars. So those were "easy to get" for a long time, relative to other Jo-Han kits. Now that it's universally assumed that none of this stuff is coming back, those kits have started moving upstream too.

When money and ethics clash, you can count on your fingers the number of times money doesn't win...

The custom mix paints probably have a "recoat window"; that is, applying a coat over paint already applied has to be done within a specified time frame, if not done "on time" then an extended wait is necessary.

I've never had any problems recoating Duplicolor. Is it a can you bought recently? Maybe they reformulated it, or "improved" it...

The system is generally tilted in favor of those who don't think or plan ahead, spend money more quickly than they earn it (if in fact they earn it), and don't save for the future.

The started/partially built kit can be found on occasion too, another "luck" thing. If you want to build the custom version, and can find one irreversibly started as the custom, it will sometimes sell more reasonably than a stock one simply because those wanting a stock one will pass on it. I found a '63 Mercury hardtop and '63 Buick hardtop started as customs, got them reasonably because both were started as customs and had the scripts and trim removed. As a bonus, the stock bumpers were still like new so those were set aside for convertibles that needed them.

'65 was pretty much the end of the line for the advanced custom parts. The '66 kits' custom versions were for the most part designed so as not to require the use of putty. In some cases the parts would look better molded in, but they could be built without it. The '65 Impalas, with that radical front end treatment, was by far the most ambitious one though. Finding a set of the parts without a kit, or in a started kit, would be one of those lucky deals. I did that awhile back with the '62 Corvette parts, finding the leftovers from a kit that apparently was built stock (and without the engine). All of those parts will fit any of the reissue '62 Corvettes.